LIARS, THE

SYNOPSIS:Budding scriptwriter Daisy (Bruni-Tedeschi) stages a minor
accident to capture the attention of a famous actress, Helene
Miller (Bracco), knowing that in showbusiness she needs contacts
as well as talent to get anywhere. Her arrival coincides with the
disappearance of Helene’s lover, Zac (Anglade). When he
turns up eight months later Zac is a bum on the streets, a
changed, disillusioned liar. He is secretive about what happened
to him, and seems to have lost his love for Helene, much to her
grief. Producer Marcus Dourmer (Frey) puts him to work with Daisy
on a film script, to get him back to work, while he raises
laundered money from underworld figures. Daisy and Zac begin to
work together and develop a haphazard, unsettled relationship
that gradually forms into something personal and meaningful,
while Daisy tries to get Zac to reveal what really happened in
those eight missing months. What he tells her is a wild,
eccentric story - from which they write their script.

"For all its freshness and intellectually stimulating
entertainment value, there are a few too many ideas jangling
round in this film for its own good. Not that they are bad ideas:
the film producer using laundered money to finance his film; the
notion that we all would like to simply disappear at one time or
another, to start again, wiping the troubles of our lives out
like a wet sponge on a blackboard; the mysterious eight months
that a film director has spent missing; the notion of a
scriptwriting duet with the same film director and a young
writer; the loss of love between a famous actress and a film
director who disappears; the way a real life experience
translates to the screen devoid of its original dynamics. All
this and more, in 103 minutes. Director Chouraqui more or less
boasts that the film is "a love story, an adventure film, a
comedy, a violent, sensual film, electrifying thriller, etc,
etc." For me, this smorgasbord generated a mild case of
cinematic indigestion. On the other hand, there are some
marvellous things in The Liars, including all the performances,
and an edginess that sustains the tension throughout."
Andrew L. Urban

"I agree with Andrew about too many ideas… the
result is somehow cluttered, and less satisfying than it should
be. The performances are top notch - the two leads: Zac
(Jean-Hughes Anglade) and Daisy (Valerie Bruni-Tedeschi)
particularly captivating; it is easy to relate to some aspect of
every character. In fact, at times, it seems that the film maker
is trying too hard to be clever, rather than let the film plot
its own course. The characters are strong, and their integration
with each other complex and unexpected. Some of the notions are
innovative; the way all the loose ends come together in the end
is ultimately satisfying, but I expected more…"
Louise Keller

"From All about Eve to John Cassavetes, this
extraordinary new French film borrows freely, but remains one of
those unexpected pleasures: a film that is so startlingly
original, so rich in detail and vividly drawn, that it really
engulfs you in its twists and turns. The Liars is a film about
deception and manipulation within the film industry, and has the
same sense of genius as The Stuntman had, over a decade ago.
Funny, dramatic, suspenseful and erotic, The Liars features a
collage of intricately delineated characters that are somehow
more than they appear. American actress Lorraine Bracco, who now
lives in Paris, gives her best performance since Goodfellas as an
obsessive, egomaniacal actress rediscovered in a rather unique
way, and beautiful screen newcomer Bruni-Tedeschi is a major star
in the making. But The Liars is a fresh and vibrant work, solidly
written and directed by Elie Chouraqui, giving us an insight into
the often unreal and manipulative world of cinema. This movie is
a real French treat, and that's the truth."
Paul Fischer